Landing the Belle
by sunstarunicorn
Summary: Memphis Belle" Oneshot of the final scene in the movie. The Belle is returning from its mission, crippled but still flying. What will the crew have to do to get their damaged bird safely home?


Landing the "Belle"

A/N: Based on the landing of the "Memphis Belle" from the 1990 movie about the "Belle's" last mission. Caution: spoilers. For those who haven't seen the movie, in this scene the "Belle" is returning from her mission with two of her four engines out and she is running out of fuel. BTW: I make no apologies for stealing lines right from the movie.

"Landing gear," Dennis ordered.

Luke flicked the switches and they listened to the whir of the gear extending. Left extended but the right wheel gave a soft whine of protest.

"Something's wrong," Virge murmured.

"Something is wrong. My wheel didn't come down," Luke agreed.

Dennis frowned. "Alright, take it back up. We'll belly land."

Luke worked the switches for a moment. "Nothing's coming up, nothing's going down."

Virge leaned in. "The electrics must be totally out."

The three exchanged panicked looks, remembering the plane that had crashed the day before.

_Flashback_

The B-17 edged downward toward the runway, engines sputtering and coughing. One wheel touched down but the other was still retracted. For a moment the plane glided on its lone wheel. The unwheeled side crashed down, propellers sparking as they hit the ground. The extended wheel collapsed, landing the other side of the plane on the ground. The plane slid, engines giving off sparks and booming. Finally the craft came to a halt. Yells came from the plane as its crew scrambled to get out. The explosion was swift and followed by several others. Ambulances sped toward the burning plane but the silent watchers knew everyone onboard was dead.

_End Flashback_

Dennis rapped out orders. "Alright. Virge, lower the wheel by hand. Luke, monitor the wheel, tell me when it's down." Over the intercom he added, "Crew, take positions for crash landing."

Virge shoved past the crew yelling, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" He snatched up the crank handle and called to one of the crew. "Come on, Jack! You've got to help me."

They scrambled past the rest of the crew and made their way to the crank box for the landing gear. Virge ducked under the safety cable and fitted the handle into the box. Jack moved in close as Virge wrenched the crank into motion. The wheel began to inch down as Virge worked.

Up in the cockpit, Luke looked out his side window. His engine was booming and sputtering. "We're losing number three!"

"Are we out of fuel?"

"Fuel gauge is shot out. How long can we fly on one engine?"

Nervous, Dennis replied, "I dunno. I guess we'll find out."

Virge kept working, ignoring the sounds from the engine. Jack eyed Virge's speed. "Come on, come on." Finally he snapped, "Get out of the way, Virge. Move, let me in there."

Virge edged backward, letting Jack in. Jack deliberately kept his stance wide and began wrenching the crank handle around. Virge turned to get out of the bomb bay when the doors fell open. He snatched at the safety rope and held on as his feet dangled over the edge. Virge paled, imagining a fall and scrambled for purchase, settling his feet on the beams imbedded in the bay doors. Position secured, Virge began to work his way up to safety.

Jack kept turning the crank, forcing the wheel down. Phil, the navigator, slid in beside him, watching. The crack let out a whine of protest as Jack rotated it.

"Come on, come on! Faster, faster," Phil called. Their plane couldn't fly much longer, they had to get the wheel down. "Come on!" Phil watched for a few more seconds, then, "I got it. I got it."

Jack maneuvered out of the way, going to his right and leaving Phil in charge of the crank. If Phil couldn't get the wheel down in time, they were dead. Phil straddled the open bomb bay and went to work, furiously hauling the crank around. Virge settled in next to Phil, ready to call encouragement.

Dennis and Luke struggled to keep their faltering plane airborne, hauling on the yokes and eying the distant airfield. Home was so close, victory within their grasp. They couldn't die now, not with their tour of duty so close to being done. The crew in the fuselage began to sing, keeping their spirits up and trying to comfort their injured comrade. Clay urged Genie and Rascal on an impromptu rendition of "Danny Boy" while Val tried to keep Danny from sliding all over the cabin.

"Hurry it up!" Luke yelled to the crew manhandling the landing gear.

Virge urged Phil on, saying, "We're not gonna die, we're not gonna die." They could both hear the wheel extending, slow but sure. Phil hauled away at the crank, refusing to give in to the fear and tension. He had given in to fear the night before but now, when he was so close to surviving, he refused to give up.

Dennis and Luke forced the airplane to stay level, eying the approaching runway. They couldn't let the crew down now. The wheel creaked downward as the Belle flew toward home. Dennis strained at the wheel, keeping it up through sheer force.

"We're not gonna die. We're gonna make it," Virge called. Phil wrenched the crank around, ignoring the sound of the Belle scraping past the trees at the edge of the airfield, concentrating on the creak of the descending wheel.

"Flaps!" Dennis snapped. They were going to make it, he knew it. Luke obeyed and the two kept on forcing the plane to fly, buying their crew more time for the wheel.

Virge kept up the encouragement. "We're not gonna die, we're not gonna die." Phil stole a glance down and redoubled his efforts.

Luke hauled at the controls, praying for a miracle. They were so close, home in their sights. That wheel just had to come down. The plane soared over the barracks and made for the runway. Time was running out.

"We're gonna live," Virge yelled. Phil forced the crank around, ignoring his muscles' protest. Almost there. The wheel gave another whine and Phil gritted his teeth. The jar of the crank was the second most wonderful sound he'd ever heard, the first being the sound of the tires hitting the runway.

The Memphis Belle touched down as the right wheel locked into position. The plane bounced and settled back to the runway. Inside the cabin, Danny's eyes opened as the tires smacked the runway. The crew broke into cheers, matched only by the cheers from the base. Dennis and Luke guided the plane off the runway into the grass and let it roll to a halt.

The crew disembarked, careful to bring Danny out without jarring his injuries. The onlookers grouped around the victorious crew, still cheering. The cheering died down when Dennis appeared carrying a wine bottle that had been smuggled aboard the plane. Without warning, he popped it open and started spraying his crew with the resulting shower of wine. The crew whooped and started up the cheering again. Willing hands tended to the Belle while her crew clambered onto the ambulance with Danny and headed back to base.

Final lines from the movie:

The "Memphis Belle" flew her 25th and final mission on 17th May, 1943. Over a quarter of a million aircraft battled for supremacy in the skies over Western Europe, and nearly 200,000 air-crew lost their lives. This film is dedicated to all the brave young men, whatever their nationality, who flew and fought in history's greatest airborne conflict.

A/N: This piece is also dedicated to the memory of "history's greatest airborne conflict." I appreciate any and all reviews. Terminology is meant to be accurate in this piece so if I got something wrong, please let me know. For those who haven't seen "Memphis Belle" it is a wonderful movie. I gather Hollywood embellished the "Belle's" last mission but that's why they're Hollywood. May history never forget the bravery of those who have fought and are fighting now.


End file.
